Disney superstar Alan Menken has announced in a Q&A with Young Artists of America earlier this week that he is very much keeping busy these days despite the global pandemic that has us all confined to our abodes.

Menken confirmed he is collaborating with lyricist Stephen Schwartz on a sequel to the beloved 2007 Disney film ‘Enchanted’, titled ‘Disenchanted’.

He is also working on a new Broadway show, ‘A Night at the Museum’, which he says is ‘almost ready for a reading now’.

ALAN MENKEN

Menken also managed to record the songs for the new ’The Little Mermaid’ live action movie in London just before the global lockdown. According to the composer, he and Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote four new songs for the movie, adding them to the other songs that they already had from the original.

In Menken’s words: ‘Melissa McCarthy came in and sang Ursula, Javier Bardem came in and sang King Triton, Daveed Diggs, who is from Hamilton, sang Sebastian, […] and Awkwafina is Scuttle.’

Other projects that have made their way onto the composer’s plate are a stage version of ‘Hercules’, a prequel to ‘Beauty and the Beast’ for Disney+, and a new animated project for Skydance, in collaboration with John Lasseter.

You can watch the full interview below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTv0Sc4TPRE

Earlier this month, composer Matthijs Kieboom recorded his new score for ‘De Piraten van Hiernaast’ (‘Pirates Down the Street’), a family feature film based on the popular Dutch children’s book ‘De Piraten van Hiernaast’.

Directed by Pim van Hoeve, the movie tells the story of the ordinary coastal town of Sandsborough which gets turned upside down with the arrival of the Blunderbuss pirate family.

12-year old Michael becomes friends with the new boy next door, 13-year old pirate Billy. However, Michael might lose his new best friend when the Blunderbusses’ archenemy Crooked Cornelius suddenly turns up, determined to lure the pirates back to sea. Together with Elizabeth, a girl from the neighbourhood, Michael and Billy go into battle.

MATTHIJS KIEBOOM, ©KINGA KARPATI & DANIEL ZAREWICZ PRESTIGE PORTRAIT

Pim van Hoeve asked his long-time collaborator, Dutch composer Matthijs Kieboom, to lend his musical craftsmanship and pen the film’s score.

With a few awards and nominations under his belt, including the Young Talent Award (Krakow Film Music Festival, 2013), Filmmusic Award (BUMA Awards, 2013), and Film & Television Music Award (ASCAP, 2012), to name a few, Matthijs Kieboom is one of the most sought-after composers in the Netherlands.

A versatile composer, Kieboom has written music for numerous TV series, feature films, shorts, and documentaries, and has tackled genres ranging from drama, crime and thriller, all the way to fantasy, comedy and romance.

DIEGO NAVARRO, PIM VAN HOEVE, MATTHIJS KIEBOOM AT SMECKY MUSIC STUDIOS. PHOTO BY MAGDALENA MISKA-JACKOWSKA

Matthijs Kieboom, on his collaboration with Pim van Hoeve: ‘This is the 6th time I’m working with Pim and it’s always a pleasure. Pim is a director who is very musical and always knows how to push me a little further. Our discussions are rarely about music, they are almost always about storytelling, we would talk about what the role of the music should be in the storytelling and what emotions we should reinforce. There is a big mutual trust towards each other and that makes working together a very pleasant and productive experience. And because of the trust, I am always trying to push myself harder because I want to surpass his expectations.

Pim and myself talked a little bit upfront about what the music should do, but not too much. It was clear that it had to be a real pirate score, that in certain moments should be big and epic, and in other moments small and comedic (it’s still a kid’s movie). I wrote one of the songs that the pirates are singing in the movie before they started to shoot and this was a blueprint of my melodic/thematic structure. Once I received the first cut of the movie I started composing my themes, so by the time the movie was “locked” I knew exactly what to do and had themes that were already approved by Pim.’

JAMES FITZPATRICK, JAN HOLZNER, THOMAS BRYLA, MATTHIJS KIEBOOM, DIEGO NAVARRO, PIM VAN HOEVE. PHOTO BY MAGDALENA MISKA-JACKOWSKA

Matthijs Kieboom, on his team and regular collaborators: ‘The team is very dear to me and they are not only great professionals, but also dear friends that I have known and worked with for a long time. Apart from being a close personal family friend, I have known Diego [Navarro] since 2013 when I met him at the Krakow Film Music Festival. Since 2013 we have worked on many different projects in many different roles. I have been orchestrating for him and his festival (Fimucité), composing additional music and producing some of his scores. This was the first time Diego conducted my music because I often conduct it myself. But on this massive production I wanted him and his big experience to guide the musicians.

At the same time of meeting Diego, I met Thomas [Bryla], who also turned out to become a dear friend and frequent collaborator. In the last 3 years Thomas worked as an orchestrator on about 9 projects of my projects. I consider him as my extra ears and eyes during my scoring process.’

THOMAS BRYLA AND MATTHIJS KIEBOOM. PHOTO BY MAGDALENA MISKA-JACKOWSKA

Matthijs continued: ‘This was the 7th time I worked with James [Fitzpatrick] and the wonderful musicians of “The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra”. James is a real titan when it comes to film music, thanks to him there were so many legendary recordings. It is always a pleasure to work with him.

I love recording in Prague because of its friendly atmosphere, amazing musicians and the great sounding acoustics of the Smecky Music Studios. What is also an important element of it, it is Jan Holzner’s Grammy-awarded work as a recording engineer. His contribution is very valuable for me and his calm personality makes me feel at ease while so much is happening that can stress you out.

The studio itself is located in the heart of Prague, the beautiful city that has been extremely important for music. Apart from recording film music for over 75 years, Prague was the city where Mozart premiered “Don Giovanni” in 1787! I do think about this a lot.

But the most special member during the recordings was… Milo! Milo was the dog of the principal trumpet player, sitting under his chair for 6 hours, not making any sound. It was only after the session we realised she was there!’

DIEGO NAVARRO CONDUCTING THE CITY OF PRAGUE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA. PHOTO BY MAGDALENA MISKA-JACKOWSKA

Scoring Info:

Recorded between 8-9 March, 2020, at the Smecky Music Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Composer: Matthijs Kieboom

Conductor: Diego Navarro

Orchestrations: Thomas Bryla & Matthijs Kieboom

Orchestra: The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

Contractor: James Fitzpatrick

Recording engineer: Jan Holzner

Mixing: Sven Lens

Score Consultant: Magdalena Miska-Jackowska

Present at the sessions: Pim van Hoeve (director), Ingmar Menning (producer), Diego Navarro, Thomas Bryla, Jan Holzner, James Fitzpatrick, Magdalena Miska-Jackowska, Daan Moerkens (assistant) & Matthijs Kieboom.

 

Film Info:

95 minutes / colour

Genre: Children’s | Family

Original title: De Piraten Van Hiernaast

Director: Pim van Hoeve

Producers: Johan Nijenhuis & Co – Ingmar Menning, Johan Nijenhuis

Screenplay: Sander de Regt

D.O.P.: Guido van Gennep

Completed: April 2020

Language: Dutch

Hollywood in Vienna will celebrate its 13^th edition at the Konzerthaus in Vienna this October, honouring Alan Menken with their prestigious Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award.

This year’s edition, titled ‘A Celebration of Disney Classics’, will highlight Menken’s legendary career and the unmistakable musical voice that generations of Disney fans around the globe now associate with this fantasy world.

8-times Oscar and 11-times Grammy winner, Menken wrote the music to some of the most beloved Disney classics, such as ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘Beauty and the Beast’, ‘Aladdin’, ‘Pocahontas’, ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’, and many more.

ALAN MENKEN

Of receiving the award, the composer commented: ‘I am truly honoured to be receiving the prestigious Max Steiner Award this year. I feel humbled to have my name and work associated with the brilliant and legendary Max Steiner himself. The way his creative life moved from theatre to film to the concert stage, even as his personal life moved him from Austria to England, and from Broadway to Hollywood, is an inspiration for all of us who follow in his footsteps nearly 50 years after his passing. And to receive this award in Vienna, the classical music capital of the world, promises to make this one of the highlights of my life and career.’

Sandra Tomek, CEO and founder of Hollywood In Vienna, added: ‘Alan Menken has received 20 Oscar nominations and has won more Academy Awards than any living artist. [He] wrote the melodies we listened to growing up from ‘The Little Mermaid’ to ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘Aladdin.’ And now our children listen to those melodies once again through Disney’s live-action adaptations of those films. Alan wrote melodies that are known around the globe and are beloved by generations. This is an extraordinary accomplishment that needs to be honored with this award.’

HOLLYWOOD IN VIENNA 2019 © CHRIS MOYLAN

The previous honourees of the Max Steiner award are Gabriel Yared, Hans Zimmer Danny Elfman, Alexandre Desplat, James Newton Howard, Randy Newman, James Horner, Lalo Schifrin, Alan Silvestri, Howard Shore, and John Barry.

The official dates for the glamorous concerts and gala are 2 and 3 October, 2020.

For more information on this year’s program as well as the past editions, head over to the Hollywood in Vienna’s official website.

Chișinău marked this year’s Valentine’s Day with a symphonic celebration of love at the ‘Nicolae Sulac’ National Palace in the heart of the capital.

Befittingly named ‘SymphoLOVE‘, the concert had a cinematic flavour, weaving the story of love through music, opera, ballet, and modern dance. The program featured music composed by Eastern European composers for classic Russian, Yugoslav and French films, as well as traditional folk songs, classical music, and modern compositions.

The masterful conductor Dumitru Cârciumaru took the helm and steered this symphonic ship through a tempestuous sea of enthusiastic music lovers, making sure it would reach its final destination three hours later that evening.

PAULA SELING SINGING EUGEN DOGA’S ‘WALTZ’

The concert kicked off with Eugen Doga’s famous ‘Waltz’ from Emil Loteanu’s 1978 movie ‘A Hunting Accident’ (Original: ‘Мой ласковый и нежный зверь’; also known as ‘My Sweet and Tender Beast’). The beloved Romanian singer Paula Seling sang the lyrics to this beautiful oeuvre, leaving the audience in tears.

President Ronald Reagan famously called it ‘the waltz of the century’ and in 2014, the waltz was chosen by UNESCO as the fourth musical masterpiece of the 20th century.

The rich program included quite a few of Eugen Doga’s works, including ‘Codrii Mei Frumoși’ (‘My Beautiful Forests’), ‘Sârba’, ‘Cascada de Paris’ (‘Paris Cascade’), ‘Pârâiașul’ (‘The Rill’), ‘Orașul Meu’ (‘My City’, Chișinãu’s official hymn), ‘Intermezzo’, and ‘Luceãfarul, from the ballet of the same name.

‘Adagio’, from the 1983 drama ‘Anna Pavlova’, was another cinematic composition born out of Doga’s long and fruitful collaboration with Emil Loteanu, which we had the chance to listen to on the night. As always, the composer himself performed his beautiful melodies on the piano.

With over 200 film scores and numerous symphonies, choral works, ballets, quartets, and plays under his belt, Mr Doga is one of the former Soviet Union’s most prolific composers.

MAESTRO EUGEN DOGA

Another beloved movie theme performed during the concert was ‘A Conversation with Happiness’ (Original: ‘Разговор со счастьем’) from ‘Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future’ (Original: ‘Иван Васильевич меняет профессию’), sung by the popular crossover quartet Brio Sonores.

BRIO SONORES

Brio Sonores were recently (2019) taken under the wing of the powerhouse Russian composer and producer, Igor Krutoy, further securing the quartet’s fast ascent to stardom.

The National Philharmonic Orchestra‘s superb performance was equally matched by the singers’ breathtakingly beautiful and powerful voices, as well as the guest instrumentalists’ jaw-dropping playing prowess.

One such instrumentalist was nai (pan flute) player Adriana Babin, who performed a few pieces including Vladimir Cosma’s beautiful composition ‘Sârba’ – the main theme of the 1972 French film ‘Le Grand Blond avec une Chaussure Noire’.

ADRIANA BABIN

‘Ederlezi’ by Goran Bregović from Emir Kusturica’s 1988 film ‘Time of the Gypsies’ (Original: ‘Dom za vesanje’) was yet another cinematic surprise of the evening, beautifully brought to life by Cornelia Ștefăneț.

CORNELIA ȘTEFĂNEȚ

Other artists who performed on the night were soprano Mariana Bulicanu, Moldovan singers Natalia Barbu and Anișoara Bragari Moroșanu (who is Eugen Doga’s newest discovery), violinist Marcel Ștefăneț, accordionist Vitalie Advahov, ballet dancers Cristina and Alexei Terentiev, and dancers from the ‘Teodor Dance Studio’.

MARIANA BULICANU PERFORMING ‘LIE CIOCÂRLIE’

Full Program

PART I

‘Waltz’ – Eugen Doga and Paula Seling

‘Silvia’ by Anatol Chiriac – Adriana Babin

‘Por Una Cabeza’ by Carlos Gardel – Marcel Ștefăneț & Vitalie Advahov

Codrii Mei Frumoși by Eugen Doga – Brio Sonores

Sârba by Eugen Doga – Vitalie Advahov & Adriana Babin

Sârba by Vladimir Cosma – Adriana Babin

Flori De Liliac by Anatol Dumitras – Natalia Barbu

Cascada De Paris, Pârâiașul by Eugen Doga – Vitalie Advahov

Orașul Meu by Eugen Doga – Mariana Bulicanu & Brio Sonores

De-ar Fi Să Vii by Alexandru Willmany – Cornelia Ștefăneț

Vivo Per Lei by Andrea Bocelli – Brio Sonores & Paula Seling

Adagio from The Nutcracker – Cristina & Alexei Terentiev (dance)

Adagio by Eugen Doga – Mariana Bulicanu & Brio Sonores

 

PART II

Intermezzo by Eugen Doga

Dance of the Knights by Sergei Prokofiev – National Philarmonic Orchestra

Luceafărul by Eugen Doga

Timpul by Paula Seling

Fight – Natalia Barbu

Ederlezi by Goran Bregović – Cornelia Ștefăneț

Medley (Săracă Inima Me, Nane Țoha, Mărul) – Anișoara Bragari Moroșanu

Razgovor So Schastem by Valeri Zolotukhin – Brio Sonores

Hijo de la Luna by Mecano – Mariana Bulicanu

Caruso by Lucio Dalla – Paula Seling & Brio Sonores

Să Cantam, Chitara Mea by Dan Spataru – Brio Sonores

Of Inimioară by Edmond Deda – Natalia Barbu

Lie Ciocârlie by Maria Lătărețu – Mariana Bulicanu

Tico Tico by Paco de Lucia – National Philarmonic Orchestra

Codrii Mei Frumoși by Eugen Doga (repeat)